Pop Art in America. Factory. Photo 2010 William John Kennedy, kiwiartsgroup. Andy Warhol holding an unrolled acetate of Marilyn in the

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1 Pop Art in America In this issue: Pop Art in America Zoom in on America Andy Warhol holding an unrolled acetate of Marilyn in the Factory. Photo 2010 William John Kennedy, kiwiartsgroup. com. (PRNewsFoto/KIWI Arts Group

2 From Abstract to Real August 5, 2012 marked the 50th anniversary of the tragic death of Marilyn Monroe. An icon of American film, Monroe was also the subject of many Pop Art creations. On August 6, Andy Warhol a leading figure of the American Pop Art movement, and for whom Marilyn Monroe was an inspiration - would have been 84. While this once avant-garde movement has aged, its influence on the world s art is still very much alive. Born in England The Pop Art movement began in England as a reaction against the abstract art of the previous decades. In the early 1950s, the Institute of Contemporary Art in London became the venue for exhibits and lectures delivered by members of the Independent Group. These artists and art critics were fascinated by the phenomena of urbanization, industrialization, and technological development. Famous exhibits such as Man Machine Motion and This Is Tomorrow were shown in Newcastle and London respectively in These exhibits revealed a shift in focus of the art of the day. Artists were now interested in showing man s surroundings, the home and everyday items, as well as real tangible objects. The word pop in connection with the new movement first appeared in artistic creations, e.g. collages I Was a Rich Man s Plaything (1947) by Eduardo Paolozzi or Just what is it that makes today s homes so different, so appealing (1956) by Richard Hamilton. Both works are now iconic Pop Art creations. The term Pop Art is attributed to artist John McHale, who was himself often called the Father of Pop. Made in America Even if Great Britain was the cradle of this new art movement, it was American soil which proved the most fertile ground for Pop Art. In the mid- 1950s, American harbingers of Pop Art like Jasper Johns (born 1930) and Robert Rauschen- page 2 An encaustic Stars and Stripes painting entitled Flag made between by U.S. artist Jasper Johns, is seen in central London, on February 5, (Photo AP Images)

3 berg ( ), launched their artistic careers. Johns became preoccupied with the American flag, which became a frequent subject of his paintings, as well as targets and numbers, which he painted with equal zeal. Rauschenberg specialized in the so called combine paintings. They, together with his sculptures, were executed in different techniques that incorporated photographs and various objects he found on the streets of New York. Art and Life Close Together Pop Art flourished in America in the 1960s and 1970s. It became a mirror of American everyday life full of advertisements, newspaper photographs, posters, wrappers, and containers. Coca Cola bottles, comics-strips, articles of clothing, used car parts, various boxes and many other items, all found their way into artistic creations during Pop Art s heyday. This undated photo provided by The Art Institute of Chicago shows the painting Oh, Jeff...I Love You, Too...But by the late pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. The artwork will be part of the exhibit Roy Lichtenstein: A Retrospective, which runs through Sept. 3, 2012 before traveling to Washington, London and Paris. (AP Photo/Courtesy the Estate of Roy Lichtenstein via The Art Institute of Chicago) In this photo a 1961 painting by the late Pop Artist Roy Lichtenstein, entitled; I Can See the Whole Room! and There s Nobody in It! is shown. The painting was sold at auction by Christie s in New York, on November 8, 2011 for over $43 million. (Photo AP Images) Nick Serota, 2nd right, Director of the Tate art galleries, with Jeremy Palmer from UBS Bank Managing Board, withdraw from its hanging rack Roy Lichtenstein s Whaam! painting at the Tate s painting store in London on September 29, (Photo AP Images) page 3

4 Some Famous Pop Artists American Pop Art found its full expression in the works of Andy Warhol (August 6, 1928 February 22, 1987), who was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to parents of Carpatho-Rusyns ethnic origin. Warhol received a degree in Graphic Design and in 1949 moved to New York to pursue a career in magazine illustration and advertising. However, he soon started his own independent career as an artist and gained his fame painting iconic American objects such as dollar bills, Campbell s soup cans, Coca-Cola bottles, and many of the most famous celebrities of the time, including Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Muhammad Ali, and Elizabeth Taylor. Warhol also established a film studio, The Factory, where he shot experimental films. The Factory was a meeting place for artists, writers, musicians, and underground celebrities. Pop Art include: Roy Lichtenstein ( ), who liked to make the old-fashioned comic strip the subject of his paintings; James Rosenquist (born 1933), who painted large street scenes, and collages in which he used fragments of advertisements; Tom Wesselmann ( ), who liked painting still life scenes in which he presented everyday articles purchased in stores; and Claes Oldenburg (born 1929), a sculptor who gained his fame for public art installations in which he presented very large replicas of everyday objects, such as a tall clothespin in front of a skyscraper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1976) and a large sculpture called a Free Stamp outside City Hall in Cleveland, Ohio (1985). Please Click to Listen to the Above Article Other artists who left a recognizable trace on Andy Warhol s work from the 1960s entitled Campbell s Soup Can, is viewed by visitors as part of the Warhola Becomes Warhol, Andy Warhol: Early Work, exhibit at the Williams College Museum of Art, February 18, 2007, in Williamstown, Massachusetts. (Photo AP Images) page 4

5 Erwin Erkfitz, left, and Garrett Brooks of the Grand Rapids Art Museum carry a Andy Warhol original past wallpaper designed by Warhol on February in Grand Rapids Michigan for a special exhibit of the artist s work. (Photo: AP Images) David Erk examines Andy Warhol s screenprint series of Marilyn Monroe from 1967 during the opening of Andy Warhol s Dream America, on August 6, 2004, at the Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyoming. (Photo AP Images) page 5

6 Big Art Needs Big Decisions At the turn of the 1960s, the city of Philadelphia pioneered the Percent for Art Program. The program requires developers who are building on land to dedicate at least one percent of the total construction costs to the commissioning original and site-specific work of art. In this way the city of Philadelphia has acquired 400 works of public art. Apart from the Clothespin (see photo) by Claes Oldenburg, prominent works acquired through this program include: Wave Forms by Dennis Oppenheim, Plateau by Andrea Blum, Open Air Aquarium by Magdalena Abakanowicz, and Goldilocks by Ming Fay. page 6 Claes Oldenburg s Clothespin is seen in the center city section of Philadelphia, March 1, (Photo AP Images)

7 Activity Page Win a Prize! August 2012 CONTEST Which artist has made the American flag a frequent theme of his works? Send the answer (with your home address) to: zoom@usinfo.pl Deadline: September 5 Win a Prize! The answer to the July contest was: Alaska Thank you for participating The winners are: Magda from Sosnowiec, Gosia from Krempachy and Elena from Buenos Aires CONGRATULATIONS The prizes will be sent to you by mail. Zoom is online at Free subscription Write to: zoom@usinfo.pl Contact us at zoom@usinfo.pl American Information Resource Center Krakow Konsulat Generalny USA ul. Stolarska 9, Krakow KrakowAIRC@state.gov Become a fan of Zoom in on America on Facebook Exercise 1 Match the artworks (some, but not all were mentioned in the article on pp. 2-4) with the artists who created them): Clothespin Roy Lichtenstein Campbell s Soup Can Claes Oldenburg Whaam! Richard Hamilton Just what is it that makes today s David Hockney homes so different, so appealing A Bigger Splash Andy Warhol Exercise 2: Reading Comprehension Read the text on pp. 2-4 and the text on p. 6 and answer the questions below: 1. Where did Pop Art originate? 2. Which artist parodied comic strips in his works? 3. What were the favorite themes for one of the harbingers of Pop Art in America, Jasper Johns? 4. What was The Factory? 5. Which decade was the heyday for Pop Art in America? 6. What did the Pop Art movement dislike about abstract art? 7. What is the most characteristic feature of Pop Art? 8. What program helps install big works of art in American cities? Exercise 3: Word study The words and expressions below are all associated with art. Match words A-G with proper definitions 1-7 on the right. a. art nouveau B. chiaroscuro c. art deco D. canvas E. still life F. watercolors G. easel 1. use of light and shade in a picture 2. a piece of material on which an oil painting can be done 3. a wooden frame that supports a picture that is being painted 4. a style of decoration and architecture that was common in the 1890s, characterized by flowing lines and patterns of flowers and leaves 5. a style of decoration and architecture that was common in the 1920s and 30s. It is characterized by simple, bold, geometric designs 6. colored paints applied with a wet brush or dissolved in water first 7. painting or drawing an arrangement of objects such as flowers (on the basis of Collins COBUILD English Dictionary) page 7

8 In this image courtesy of the National Gallery of Art, the piece, Target with Four Faces by Jasper Johns is seen. (Photo: AP Images) page 8